Seat, particularly a vehicle seat, preferably in an aeroplane

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a seat comprising at least one inclinably adjustable seat component such as a seat section ( 12 ) whose seat frame structure can be disposed on a floor structure ( 24 ) in such a way that it is pivotable around the stationary legs thereof ( 22 ). The pairs of the stationary legs ( 22 ) in the region of the front edge ( 26 ) and the rear edge ( 28 ) of the seating section ( 12 ) acting thereupon. The inventive seat also comprises an actuating device ( 30 ) for adjusting the respective inclination of the seat section ( 12 ), having an exit position, whereby the seat section ( 12 ) is orientated in an essentially parallel manner in relation to the floor structure ( 24 ) and cannot be inclined. The actuating device ( 30 ) extends in said exit position between the stationary legs ( 22 ), whereby one end ( 32 ) in the region of the front seat ( 26 ) is orientated counter to the floor structure ( 24 ) and the other end ( 34 ) in the region of the rear edge of the seat ( 28 ) is orientated in the direction of the seat frame structure ( 20 ); as a result the forces arising from a crash are deflected via the actuating device in a safe and targeted manner to the floor structure, and the actuating device strives to maintain its original position in the seat frame structure when a crash occurs.

[0001] The invention relates to a seat, particularly a vehicle seat, preferably in an aeroplane, with at least one seat component which is adjustable at least in its height, like a seat part, which can erected with its seat frame structure to be able to swivel on stationary legs on a floor structure, the stationary legs in pairs in the area of the front seat edge and back seat edge of the seat part being engaged in the latter, with an actuation means which has a multipart movement mechanism with at least one control part for adjusting the respective height for the seat part and with an initial position in which the seat part is aligned essentially parallel to the floor structure, in this initial position the actuating means extending between the stationary legs such that one end in the area of the front seat edge points against the floor structure and the other end in the area of the back seat edge points in the direction of the seat frame structure, and with at least one stiffening part which is dynamically connected to the actuating means by means of the assigned control part.

[0002] DE 199 44 620 which was published afterwards discloses an aircraft passenger seat which consists of individual seat components including a leg rest and a backrest. These seat components can be moved by actuating means in the form of so-called servo-drives or actuators which can be triggered by a hand-operated actuating means for adjusting the seat to the requirements of the seat occupant. For the seat parts there are hand levers which are modeled to the contours of these seat parts as an element of the actuating means and which combined into an operating part for adjusting the aircraft passenger seat yield obvious adjustment for the respective seat component. To prevent the seat occupant from striking fixed barriers when adjusting the seat components to his requirements, for example against the rear area of the backrest of a seat following ahead in the lengthwise direction of the seat, for the servo-drives there are stops against which the respective seat components run, and the pertinent respective stop barrier cannot be passed even as the pertinent control button continues to be actuated. Another possibility is to turn off the drive by cam-operated limit switches. The pertinent limiting barriers are not always approached without jerking in the known seat designs; this can adversely affect sitting comfort. The respective seat component is also protected by way of stops in the maximum deflection positions; however in case of a crash this can lead to the seat frame structure including the stationary legs collapsing; this accordingly adversely affects the safety of known seat designs.

[0003] DE-A-40 03 776 discloses a vehicle seat, especially a motor vehicle seat, with a cushioned support of the seat part which can be adjusted by means of an adjustment device relative to the freely-swivelling backrest, at least in one position of the cushion support above its lowermost position the cushion support of the seat part being movable back into the initial position by means of the adjustment device before or at the beginning of freely swivelling the backrest out of its initial position forward and/or at least in the area of its back end section down and after or during swivelling back the backrest into its initial position. Although the known adjustment device can also be used for adjusting the height or tilt of the cushioned support of the seat part, the adjustment possibilities for the individual seat parts are reduced even if in one advantageous configuration of the known design the rocker of the adjustment device is coupled to an adjustment element of variable length which can be for example a motor-driven threaded spindle or a working cylinder.

[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 2,784,764 discloses a generic seat with two pairs of stationary legs which engage the seat part with a swivelling capacity, and also engage the floor mounting device for the seat. Between the stationary legs, as the actuating means an actuator in the form of a roll spindle device extends, one end in the area of the front seat edge pointing opposite the floor structure and the other end in the area of the rear set edge pointing in the direction of the seat frame structure. The one free end of the actuator is movably coupled to a control part which is connected to a U-shaped seat rail has a link guide for a rod-like stiffening part which extends transversely to the lengthwise direction of the actuating means in the initial state and consequently in the raised position of the seat part between the rear stationary legs and the indicated lengthwise link guide. Although the known design is made very stiff and consequently must be adapted to safety requirements which are higher in a crash, with the known design it is only possible to adjust the seat part in an incline which has been permanently assigned once to different seat heights and in this way to match the requirements of the seat occupant.

[0005] Based on this prior art, the object of the invention is to improve known seats, especially vehicle seats, such as aircraft passenger seats, such that the respective seat as a complete system ensures a high level of safety even in case of a crash and still provides a plurality of adjustment possibilities for the seat, especially also relative to the height and tilt adjustment of the actual seat part. At the same time, the improved design will require only little installation space on the seat and will be economical to implement. This object is achieved by a seat with the features of claim 1 in its totality.

[0006] In that, as specified in the characterizing part of claim 1, the movement mechanism produces the movable coupling between the respective control part and the assignable stiffening part by way of at least one coupling part and that in the initial position the respective stiffening part is located essentially parallel to the lengthwise orientation of the actuating means, the forces which occur in a crash are diverted by way of the actuating means with the respective stiffening part into the floor structure, for example in the form of a vehicle or aircraft cabin floor in a reliable and dedicated manner, the actuating means keeping the stationary legs apart at least in the initial position in the case of a crash such that the seat frame structure of the overall seat is preserved in any case. Accordingly, the individual seat components are essentially preserved in their structure so that in case of a crash damage is diverted away from the respective seat occupant. Since in case of a crash one of the main loading directions as a result of the weight of the seat occupant occurs on the rear seat edge of the seat part, the loading forces which occur there are diverted at an angle of approximately 45° in the raised seat position into the respective vehicle or aircraft cabin floor.

[0007] By using another coupling part, the movement and adjustment possibilities for the actuating means in conjunction with the stationary legs and for the respective stiffening part can be enhanced so that the seat with its seat part can be adjusted almost at will not only in height in the given frame, but at least relative to the seat part a plurality of tilt adjustments is easily possible by way of the slaved stationary legs; this could not be achieved in the past in this form with the known designs (cf. U.S. Pat. No. 2,784,764).

[0008] In one preferred embodiment of the seat as claimed in the invention, it is provided that the actuating means has an actuator which is connected on the housing side to the base frame via which the seat can be joined to the floor structure, and which on the rod side has a multipart movement mechanism which interacts with a moving axle which extends between the two stationary legs which are pivotally coupled to the seat frame structure in the area of the transition between the seat part and the backrest. Without limiting possible movements in this way, especially the tilt adjustment possibilities for the seat, a stiff seat frame is clamped and can accommodate the loads which occur in a crash equally in all directions. The moving axle as a tubular stiffening segment by preference keeps the two rear stationary legs at a distance and other tubular stiffening segments extend between the moving axle and the movement mechanism.

[0009] In another preferred embodiment of the seat as claimed in the invention, on either side of the actuator housing there extend two stiffening rods which are made as stiffening parts and which on their one free end are hinged to the base frame and on their other free end each have one coupling point for a pair of assignable stiffening segments. In this way the actuator itself with its actuating rod or with its drive mechanism is relieved. Preferably the control part with its one end is fixed in an articulated manner in the area of the free end of the actuating rod to the latter and on its other end has a coupling point for an assignable stiffening rod.

[0010] In one especially preferred embodiment of the seat as claimed in the invention, there is a contact point between the control part and the coupling part in the direction of the free end of the actuating rod outside of the imaginary connecting line between the moving axle and the coupling point of the actuator housing on the base frame so that, in this locked position, crash forces directed possibly along the imaginary connecting line as a result of this “overcentering” lead to the contact point being moved in the direction of the control part as a reliable abutment. Yielding and collapsing of the seat in case of a crash as a result of binding forces of the movement mechanism therefore are for the most part precluded.

[0011] Other advantageous embodiments of the seat as claimed in the invention are the subject matter of the other dependent claims.

[0012] The seat as claimed in the invention is detailed below in the drawings using one embodiment of an airline passenger seat. The figures are schematic and are not drawn to scale.

[0013]FIG. 1 shows a side view of the aircraft passenger seat without the leg rest and without the cushion parts;

[0014]FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of part of the movement mechanism of the aircraft passenger seat as shown in FIG. 1 if it is swivelled by 180° around the vertical axis;

[0015] FIGS. 3 to 5 show a side view of part of a model movement mechanism as shown in FIG. 2 if it is acting on the seat part and moves this seat part out of the initial position as shown in FIG. 3 into a comfortable position as shown in FIG. 4 and into the fully reclined position as shown in FIG. 5.

[0016]FIG. 1 shows an aircraft passenger seat in the upright position. Such aircraft passenger seats with the corresponding level of outfitting are often found in the first class compartment of long-range aircraft; but fundamentally they could also be used in luxury tour busses or in passenger ships including ferries. Furthermore, the seat in addition can be used as a medical treatment chair also in surgery or dentistry. Other applications are in sports medicine and also as a chair for the application of cosmetics.

[0017] The illustrated aircraft passenger seat as shown in FIG. 1 is preferably a component of a compartment which is shown by way of suggestion in FIG. 1. The aircraft passenger seats could fundamentally also be used in an arrangement next to one another in a row in business class for a conventional multiseat arrangement or the like.

[0018] The aircraft passenger seat is composed of individual seat components, such as a seat part 12, a backrest 14 and a leg rest system which is not detailed. For greater clarity, in addition the cushion support for the indicated seat components is omitted in FIG. 1 so that the underlying frame parts are visible accordingly. The backrest 14 is positioned to be able to swivel around an articulation point 16 by way of an actuation mechanism which is not detailed in its incline relative to the seat part 12 which runs essentially horizontally in the initial position. The frame of the backrest 14 on its lower end leads into a forked end piece 18, one fork end interacting with the actuation mechanism which is not detailed and the other fork end engaging the articulation point 16.

[0019] The seat part 12 is moreover provided with a seat frame structure 20 which can be vertically mounted with a swivelling capacity on a floor structure 24 by way of four stationary legs 22. The pertinent floor structure 24 is formed for example by the aircraft cabin floor. The stationary legs 22 adjoin in pairs in the area of the front seat edge 26 and the rear seat edge 28 of the seat part 12. Furthermore there is an actuating means designated as a whole as 30 for adjusting the respective tilt for the seat part 12, in the initial position as shown in FIG. 1 the seat part 12 being aligned essentially parallel to the floor structure 24 and consequently not having any tilt in this horizontal alignment.

[0020] In the initial position of the seat part 12 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 the actuating means 30 with its essential components extends between the front and rear pairs of stationary legs 22 such that one end 32 of the actuating means 30 in the area of the front seat edge 26 points against the floor structure 24 and the other end 37 of the actuating means 30 in the area of the rear seat edge 28 points in the direction of the seat frame structure 20. In this way secure clamping of the seat frame base structure 20 with the four stationary legs 22 is achieved. Furthermore, the actuating means 30 extends in the manner of a clamping rod within the seat structure, and in the initial position of the seat with the horizontally aligned seat part 12 and the raised seat back 14 the loading forces which may occur pulsed in a crash are diverted by way of the actuating means 30 into the floor structure 24. The forces occurring especially on the rear seat edge 28 as a result of the force of the weight of the seat occupant in this inclined position are directed by way of the front area of the seat into the floor structure 24 by the pertinent braced arrangement, the actuating means extending between the stationary legs 22 essentially at an angle of 45° to the floor structure 24. The tilted arrangement of the actuating means 30 therefore yields an effective holding counterforce which keeps the seat in its initial position and especially provides for neither the seat frame structure 20 nor the other structural components being twisted into themselves; this could possibly increase the danger of injury to the seat occupant.

[0021] As FIG. 2 shows in particular, the actuating means 30 has an actuator 36 which is pivotally connected by its housing 38 to the base frame 40. The seat as whole can be connected to the floor structure 24 of the aircraft by way of the pertinent base frame 40. For the sake of simplicity FIG. 2 shows only the two base frame tubes 42 of the base frame 40 and the two rear floor rails 44 which along the seat adjoin the two free ends of the respective base frame tube 42. The actuator 36 can consist of a hydraulically or pneumatically actuated working cylinder, optionally of a spindle drive or the like, in the case shown here however provided with an electric motor which provides for the actuating rod 46 of the actuator 36 to be able to be extended from and retracted into its housing 38. The configuration of the pertinent actuators is prior art so that it will not be further detailed here.

[0022] On the free end of the actuating rod 46 the actuating means 30 has a multipart movement mechanism which is designated as a whole as 48. The pertinent movement mechanism 48 interacts with its moving axle 50 which extends between the rear stationary leg pair 22 in the area of the rear seat edge 28 of the aircraft passenger seat as shown in FIG. 1. For better representation, in FIG. 2 the reproduction of the front pair of stationary legs 22 is omitted. As FIG. 3 shows in particular, the moving axle 50 runs underneath the seat frame structure 20 and underneath the respective coupling point 52 by way of which the respective top ends 54 of the stationary legs 22 are pivotally coupled to the seat frame structure 20. The lower ends 56 of the respective stationary legs 22 are in turn pivotally coupled to the floor rails 44 which extend in pairs in the lengthwise direction.

[0023] As FIG. 2 furthermore shows, the moving axle 50 made as a tubular stiffening segment holds the two rear stationary legs 22 at a distance from one another and four other tubular stiffening segments 58 extend between this moving axis 50 and the indicated movement mechanism 48. The tubular moving axle 50 also viewed in the direction of looking at FIG. 2 consequently is braced towards the bottom and the crash forces delivered in this area are reliably diverted into the base frame 40 and consequently into the floor structure 24 by way of the actuating means 30. To further brace the seat frame, to the left and right there are moreover two stiffening rods 60 as stiffening parts which on their one free end are in turn hinged to the base frame 40 and on their other free end each have a coupling point 62 for a pair of assignable stiffening segments 58. The pertinent stiffening segments 58 ensure that the moving axle which is made as a tubular stiffening segment cannot deform undesirably in case of a crash and consequently in any case ensures that the rear pair of stationary legs 22 is held apart.

[0024] In order to better illustrate the operation of the movement mechanism, this is modeled in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, but the operation shown there also taking place with respect to the practical embodiment as shown in FIG. 2.

[0025] The movement mechanism 48 on either side of the actuation means has a hook-like control part 64 which with its one end 66 in the area of the free end of the actuating rod 46 is coupled to the latter. Furthermore, the respective control part 64 on the other end 68 has a coupling point for the respectively assignable stiffening rod 60. Furthermore, the movement mechanism 48 by way of coupling parts 70 which are located on both sides of the actuator 36 establishes the movable coupling between the moving axle 50, the respective control part 64 and the assignable stiffening rod 60. In the practical version the coupling part 70 is made in the manner of an angled bridge, but in the theoretical model form as shown in FIG. 3 ff., it is made as a triangular joining plate.

[0026] As FIGS. 3 to 5 furthermore show, the respective triangular coupling part 70 on its one triangular end is pivotally coupled to the moving axle 50, on the other opposing triangular end is pivotally joined to the assignable stiffening rod 60 and is pivotally coupled to the control part 64 by way of its triangle apex 72 and a rod-like coupling element 74. Here the respective control part 64 is provided with a control edge 76 which in the initial position of the seat as shown in FIG. 3 is in contact with the coupling point 78 of the respectively assignable stiffening rod 60 on the coupling part 70. The rod-like coupling element 74 is consequently pivotally coupled with its free end to the triangle apex 72 of the coupling part 70 and with its other free end to the connecting hump 80 of the control part 64. The indicated control edge 76 of the control part 64 consequently extends between the indicated connecting hump 80 and the hook-like end 82 of the control part 64 with the other end 68 to which one of the two stiffening rods 60 is coupled.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 3, there is a coupling point in the form of the contact point 78 between the control part 64 and the coupling part 70 in the direction of the free end of the actuating rod 46 outside an imaginary connecting line 84 between the moving axle 50 and the coupling point 56 of the actuator housing 38 on the base frame 40. Consequently, the contact point 78 is leaned against the control edge 76 of the control part 64 as an abutment and the pertinent pivot is “overcentered” in the direction of the seat frame structure 20 so that when a force is applied in case of a crash in the direction of the imaginary connecting line 84 in the manner of a toggle lever the contact point 78 is overstretched with the result that an effective abutment is formed by this off-center coupling. Consequently, the forces of the abutment increase as soon as the forces along the imaginary connecting line 84 increase accordingly.

[0028] In the filly extended position of the actuator 36 the seat part 12 with the seat frame 20 is aligned essentially horizontally. If at this point the actuating rod 46 is retracted in the direction of the actuator housing 38, a type of comfortable position as shown in FIG. 4 arises, in which the rear seat edge 28 is located lower in the vertical direction compared to the reference plane in the form of the front seat edge 26. In the pertinent comfortable position the thigh area of the seat occupant is consequently supported correspondingly high; this results in a comfortable sitting position. Here, as shown in FIG. 4 the pairs of stationary legs 22 are swivelled forward counterclockwise and both the control part 64 and also the coupling part 70 have a swivelling motion clockwise in order to pass through around the coupling point 66 and around the moving axle 50. Thus, additional bracing takes place by way of the rod-like coupling element 74. If the actuating rod 46 is retracted farther in the direction of the actuator housing 38, a type of bed or fully reclined position as shown in FIG. 5 results and the stationary legs 22 are tilted still farther forward counterclockwise around their lower pivots. At this point the front seat edge 26 is tilted down relative to the rear seat edge 28, its being possible for the seat part cushion of the backrest 14 (not shown), the seat part 12 and the leg rest which is not detailed to form an obliquely tilted support or resting surface. In the pertinent fully reclined position both the coupling part 70 and also the coupling element 74 with the triangle apex 72 are moved up in the vertical direction by way of the moving axle 50 and one end 66 of the control part 64 is located essentially in the horizontal plane to the articulation point 16. Consequently, it is possible to trigger the most varied sitting positions by way of a control (not shown) with only one actuating means 30, in the upright seat position as shown in FIG. 3 only one potential crash case being assumed.

[0029] The actuating means 30 with the movement mechanism 48 requires only little installation space and moreover saves weight. The movement mechanism 48 moreover ensures that an adjustment possibility for the seat part 12 is achieved with only a small path of travel of the actuator 36 in a widely drawn frame. 

1. Seat, particularly a vehicle seat, preferably in an aeroplane, with at least one seat component which is adjustable at least in its height, like a seat part (12), which can be erected with its seat frame structure (20) by way of stationary legs (22) to be able to swivel on a floor structure (24), the stationary legs (22) in pairs in the area of the front seat edge (26) and back seat edge (28) of the seat part (12) being engaged in the latter, with an actuation means (30) which has a multipart movement mechanism (48) with at least one control part (64) for adjusting the respective height for the seat part (12) and with an initial position in which the seat part (12) is aligned essentially parallel to the floor structure (24), in this initial position the actuating means (30) extending between the stationary legs (22) such that one end (32) in the area of the front seat edge (26) points into the floor structure (24) and the other end (34) in the area of the back seat edge (28) points in the direction of the seat frame structure (20), and with at least one stiffening part (60) which is dynamically connected to the actuating means (30) by means of the assigned control part (64), characterized in that the movement mechanism (48) by way of at least one coupling part (70) establishes the movable coupling between the respective control part (64) and the assignable stiffening part (60) and that in the initial position the respective stiffening part (60) is located essentially parallel to the lengthwise orientation of the actuating means (30).
 2. The seat as claimed in claim 1, wherein the actuation means (30) has an actuator (36) which is connected on the housing side to the base frame (40) via which the seat can be joined to the floor structure (24), and which on the rod side has a multipart movement mechanism (48) which interacts with a moving axle (50) which extends between the two stationary legs (22) which are pivotally coupled to the seat frame structure (20) in the area of the transition between the seat part (12) and the backrest (14).
 3. The seat as claimed in claim 2, wherein the moving axle (50) as a tubular stiffening segment keeps the two rear stationary legs (22) spaced apart and other tubular stiffening segments (58) extend between the moving axle (50) and the movement mechanism (48).
 4. The seat as claimed in claim 3, wherein on either side of the actuator housing (38) there extend two stiffening rods which are made as stiffening parts (60) and which on their one free end are hinged to the base frame (40) and on their other free end each have one coupling point (62) for a pair of assignable stiffening segments (58).
 5. The seat as claimed in one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the control part (64) with its one end (66) is fixed in an articulated manner in the area of the free end of the actuating rod (46) to the latter and on the other end (68) has a coupling point for an assignable stiffening rod (60).
 6. The seat as claimed in one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the respective control part (64) is provided with a control edge (74) which in the initial position of the seat is in contact with the coupling point (76) of the respectively assignable stiffening rod (60) on the coupling part (70).
 7. The seat as claimed in claim 6, wherein there is a contact point (78) between the control part (64) and the coupling part (70) in the direction of the free end of the actuating rod (46) outside of the imaginary connecting line (84) between the moving axle (50) and the coupling point (56) of the actuator housing (38) on the base frame (40).
 8. The seat as claimed in one of claims 2 to 7, wherein in the fully extended position of the actuator (36) the seat part (12) is in the initial position, wherein in the partially retracted position the seat part (12) is in a comfortable position in which the front seat edge (26) is tilted higher than the rear seat edge (28), and wherein in the fully retracted position of the actuator (36) for reaching the fully reclined position the front seat edge (26) is lowered relative to the rear seat edge (28).
 9. The seat as claimed in one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the moving axle in the direction of the floor structure (24) is located underneath the connecting points via which the seat part (12) is pivotally connected to the rear stationary legs (22). 